Soul Mates
by JenCamp
Summary: Episode tag to Point of View. Dr. Carter worries about her and O'Neill being soul mates until the arrival of three unlikely men.


SOUL MATES

This is an episode tag to season 3's "Point of View" It also has spoilers for season 9.

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"Hey, Dr. C, why the long face?" asked Kowalsky walking into the infirmary where Dr. Carter was laying in a bed after suffering from an episode of entropic cascade failure.

"I guess, I'm disappointed, depressed, maybe". She replied, looking up at him with pain in her big, blue eyes.

"Why, because of your little 'Twilight Zone' episode?" He asked while taking a seat in the chair next to her bed.

"No, I was thinking of Jack".

"Oh, sorry." He responded, now feeling like he was intruding.

"It's just…I don't know, I guess I always thought we were soul mates, I know that sounds really childish, but it always seemed as though we were meant to be together".

"What makes you think you're not soul mates, because Jack's gone?"

"No," Sam replied, looking down at her hands in her lap as they played with the scrunched up blanket there. "It's them, this reality. They're so different. When the Jack from this reality looked at me, it was completely different from the way my Jack looked at me……..It's just, alternate realities are made from different decisions we make, different paths we take. But, our souls are still the same. If we are truly soul mates, that should transcend to all realities."

"So, you think because they aren't together in this reality, you guys aren't soul mates? Come on, Dr. C, I was there from the first time you two met all the way to his death. I saw the way you two were with each other. I've never seen such deep love. I know you two are soul mates, and more than that, Jack knew you two were soul mates!" Kowalsky took a deep breath and looked his best friend's wife in the eyes. He wasn't surprised to see the tears sliding down her cheeks or the look of total loss on her face. With the war, she never had the chance to grieve for her husband, and now she was faced with a reality where their love doesn't even exist. "You know, after Jack had proposed to you, the guys and I took him out to the bar to celebrate. He told me that night, that what you to have was more than just love, he told me that you complete him. He said before he met you, he didn't even know he wasn't whole. But, once you walked into his life, he realized that without you he was only half a man, living half a life."

Sam looked up at him, her entire face soaked in tears now as she grieved for her husband, for the love that didn't exist in this reality. "Why do they not have what we had?" She asked as she wiped her face with the rumpled blanket.

"I guess it has to do with the choices they made." He answered while handing her tissues from the bedside stand. "This Sam joined the air force and works directly under Jack. There are rules and regulations that forbid them from any sort of romantic relationship."

Neither of them spoke for a few minutes as they contemplated the difference between the two realities.

The silence was soon interrupted with a quick rap on the infirmary door as a familiar voice intruded the air, "Major Kowalsky, could we have a moment of your time, sir?"

Dr. Carter and Kowalsky looked up to see Major Ferretti, Sgt. Siler and Sgt. Davis standing at the door, waiting for permission to enter. Kowalsky noticed that Sgt. Davis was holding a small silver lock box and Siler had a manilla folder. "Sure men, come on in." He said motioning with his hands for them to come over to the bed Dr. Carter was positioned on.

The three men, looking noticeably sheepish, entered the room and made their way over to the two only other occupants of the room. "Major Ferretti was the first to speak. "Well, you see, sir, as you know, our Major Kowalsky was killed several years ago."

"Uh, yes, I'm aware of this." Kowalsky stated with a confused look on his face.

Ferretti looked at the double of his dead friend for a few seconds before continuing. "Uh, what I'm getting at sir, is that before he died, he placed a bet. A bet that he won. However, he died a few weeks before he actually won the bet. We never knew what to do with his winnings, so we just left them in the lock box."

"We decided that you should take his winnings, sir." Sgt. Davis impatiently interrupted Ferretti's rambling.

"Me, why?" Kowalsky was now more confused than ever.

"Well, because you are him. You're not, but you are. You know?" Ferretti answered shifting from foot to foot.

Dr. Carter, becoming more and more intrigued in this conversation finally asked the question that was bothering her since the conversation first started. "What was the bet, Major?"

The three men just stood there staring, slightly agape at Dr. Carter for several seconds. "Ma'am?" Was the only reply Ferretti could get out.

"The bet, what was it?" She asked again, shifting her gaze to each man standing at the end of her bed.

"Um, well……you see……it was a bet about Col. O'Neill and Captain Carter."

"You mean Major Carter." Kowalsky interrupted.

"N-no, sir, at the time of the bet, Major Carter was still a captain." Siler spoke for the first time since entering the infirmary.

"You see, the bet was placed right after the debriefing before our second mission to Abydos. When Col. O'Neill and Captain Carter first met.

"What was the bet, men?" Carter asked again, completely engrossed in this incredibly unusual conversation.

Ferretti, knowing the Carter from his reality would kick his ass once she heard the bet, wondered just how different the two Carters were and whether or not he should be fearing for his life right now. He took a step closer to the door, (just in case) and decided to plunge right into the abyss. "Kowalsky bet that before the end of the year, Col. O'Neill and Captain Carter would make out." There he said it, and he was still alive. Whew!

"AND HE WON?" Kowalsky and Carter asked, rather loudly, simultaneously.

"Yes, Captain Carter advanced on Col. O'Neill in the locker room after their return from a planet called 'The Land of Light'. However, her advancement was due to her being infected with an alien virus that caused the primitive parts of her to want to mate with the alpha male." Walter replied in his normal monotone voice.

"Since the original bet, we've made them much more detailed." Ferretti added.

"You mean, you're still betting on them?" Dr. Carter asked.

"Y-yes, b-but there are several bets instead of just the making out one." Siler answered.

"What sort of bets?" Dr. Carter asked, sitting up a little more on her bed.

At this, Siler opened up the manilla folder he had been clutching in his hands as if his life depended on it. "Well, ma'am, there are the bigger bets, which are still waiting to be settled. Like, when Major Carter and Col. O'Neill will make out without any alien influence. There are also bets on when, how and where Col. O'Neill will admit his true feelings for Major Carter. When, where and how he will propose and what the sex of their first child will be." Siler cleared his voice with a soft cough as he flipped to a second page before continuing. "The smaller bets pay off much more regularly."

"What are the smaller bets?" Kowalsky asked.

"Uh, well," Siler started, "There are bets about how long Col. O'Neill will sit at Major Carter's bedside when she is sick or injured. And vice versa for Major Carter. There are also bets on how many times Col. O'Neill will visit Major Carter's lab in a given week. How many times he will steal bites of her blue jello. How many times he will feed her bites of his cake. How many times and for how long he stares at her when they are in the same room. How many dirty looks he gives other men who check out Major Carter. How many times she gets caught checking out Col. O'Neill. How long she stays mad at him after a mission where women throw themselves at him. How long it takes her to convince Dr. Frasier to let Col. O'Neill leave the infirmary earlier than recommended. How many items she puts on her plate that she won't eat, but knows Col. O'Neill will pick off her plate. How long the two of them will avoid each other after an intense training session in the gym or another intimate, awkward moment." Siler looked up at the other people in the room. "I could go on if you like, but there is five pages of these." He stated.

"Uh, that's ok, Sgt., I think we get the drift." Kowalsky quietly responded.

"Y-yes, sir."

"So, what are the winnings?" Kowalsky casually asked.

"Two hundred bucks." Ferretti answered.

"Wow."

"Yes, well, quite a few people put money in on the first bet before it was settled."

"Are there bets on other officers here?" Dr. Carter innocently asked.

"There are a few small bets on a few other members of the SGC. Like how many times in a given month that Dr. Jackson will end up in the infirmary. Or how many times the SG-3 marines will get in trouble while on downtime. But, the majority of them center on Col. O'Neill and Major Carter."

"Why so much interest in them?" Dr. Carter asked.

"Because we are fortunate to be able to watch two of our own fall in love with each other a little more everyday, and hell, why not make some money while we're at it." Ferretti replied.

Kowalsky looked over at Dr. Carter with a knowing look in his eyes that only she completely understood. "So, two hundred bucks, huh? Kowalsky asked as he shifted his gaze from Dr. Carter back to the three men at the end of the bed. They nodded an affirmative. "So, can I take the $200 and place another bet with it?"

The three men looked at each other, "Uh, I suppose, but, I don't know how you'll get the money if you win." Ferretti answered.

"Well, if I win again, I'm sure you three will think of something." Kowalsky responded with an amused look on his face.

"So, what will your bet be, Major?" Davis asked. At this, Siler opened the manilla folder again and pulled a pen out of his pocket.

"Uh, let's see, Dr. C., I'm going to need your help on this." Kowalsky stated as he turned his attention from the three men back to his best friend's wife. "I'm thinking we bet the $200 on when they will make out without any alien influence."

"Hmm, well, that makes sense, since that's what the other Kowalsky bet on." Sam responded with a smile on her face. After a few silent seconds, Sam continued. "Well, you already said they aren't allowed to be together romantically because of Air Force regulations, so, knowing how honorable Jack is, he won't try anything until she is no longer under his command."

Siler flipped through several pages in the folder. "No longer under his command as in, she retires from the air force, he retires from the air force, she gets transferred, he gets transferred, she gets promoted to her own team or other?" Siler asked.

"Oh, I don't know." Kowalsky answered looking a little shocked. "Uh, what are the odds?"

Siler flipped a couple pages and then looked up at Kowalsky and Dr. Carter. "Most bets are on Col. O'Neill retiring. However, several people have bet that Major Carter will retire and take on a civilian role here, especially since the arrival of Dr. Carter." Siler glanced up momentarily at Dr. Carter and saw the small grin that appeared. "There are also many bets that Major Carter will be transferred off base or receive her own command."

"What about Jack getting transferred?" Dr. Carter asked.

"Actually, ma'am, no one has bet on that one. No one can actually imagine Col. O'Neill being transferred without him putting up a fight and retiring instead."

Kowalsky and Dr. Carter shared grins with each other. "Then, that is the one we will bet on." Kowalsky announced.

"Very well then, Dr. Carter and Major Kowalsky, AU, $200 on Col. O'Neill and Major Carter making out without any alien influence after she is no longer under his direct command by way of him being transferred." Davis dictated as Siler wrote, quite quickly, in the manilla folder. Once Siler finished, the three men thanked the two for their time and quickly left the room.

"So," Kowalsky started, grinning broadly at Dr. Carter, "still worried about 'soul mates'?"

Sam smiled the biggest, happiest smile since well before the knowledge of the impending attack on their world. "Nope, not worried at all." she replied, still smiling from ear to ear as she put her hands behind her head and leaned back against the wall.

------------------6 years later---------------------------------------------------------------------

General Hank Landry had just walked into his office when the phone started ringing. He grumbled something under his breath as he picked up the phone. "Landry"

"Hey, Hank, it's Jack." Came the voice at the other end of the phone.

"Hey, Jack, how's things in Washington?" He asked with a slight chuckle. Hank had known Jack for years and never, ever would have expected Jack to be his boss and take a desk job in DC.

"Doesn't beat gate travel." He answered. "I was calling to ask either Walter or Siler about a requisition form I received."

"Oh, ok, well, I'm not sure where Siler is, but, Walter's in the control room, hang on a sec and I'll page him for you." Gen. Landry pressed the hold button and set the receiver down. Then, he paged Walter in the control room and told him Gen. O'Neill would like to speak to him on line 2.

Walter, quite nervously picked up the phone in the control room. "S-Sgt. Davis here, sir." He answered.

"Hey, Walter. I hope I'm not interrupting any important diagnostics or whatever the hell you do in the control room all day." Jack began as Walter rolled his eyes. "I received a requisition form with you and Siler's names for the Quantum Mirror that I was under the impression was destroyed years ago as per General Hammond's orders. May I ask what the two of you could possibly want with that thing."

"Um, well, sir, it's a funny story, really. Uh, actually, we just needed to use it to settle a long-standing bet, sir."

On his end of the phone, General O'Neill's eyebrows were raised to significant heights. "A bet, Walter?" He asked. He had no idea where Walter was going with this.

"Uh, yes, sir. You see, when Dr. Carter and Major Kowalsky from the other reality were here they placed a bet and Sgt. Siler and I just wanted to use the mirror to give them their winnings, sir."

Jack sighed, a deep, long sigh. In a slightly agitated voice he asked, "Walter, I know I'm going to regret asking this, but, what was the bet?"

"Sir?" Walter understood him completely, but was wasting time because he really didn't want to answer.

"You heard me, Walter!" Jack responded with a louder voice. He knew Walter was trying to avoid answering and Jack was getting slightly angry.

"Sir, Major Kowalsky and Dr. Carter bet that you and Col. Carter would make out for the first time without any alien influence after she was no longer under your command by means of you being transferred."

"I see……and exactly how much did they win, Sgt?"

"They were the only ones to bet that you would be the one to transfer so they won the whole pot, sir."

"And how much is that, Walter?" Jack asked, his anger dissipating.

"Two thousand, three hundred and fifty-eight dollars, sir." Jack didn't respond for several seconds and Walter was beginning to worry that his career very well may be over.

"Sergeant?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Put General Landry back on the phone, please."

"Yes, sir." Walter pressed the hold button on the phone and mentally cursed himself for his and Siler's stupidity in trying to get in contact with Dr. Carter and Major Kowalsky. They weren't even sure if the bills would even be the same in that reality. The truth was, they just wanted to let the two know that they had won the bet. Walter paged the general to let him know General O'Neill wanted to speak to him again, then he sunk into his regular seat in front of the controls and continued to berate himself.

"Jack?" General Landry asked as he picked the phone back up in his office.

"Hey, Hank, I just wanted to let you know, I'm having the quantum mirror at Area 51 shipped over to the SGC. Walter and Siler know what to do with it."

"Ok, Jack, anything else?" Landry asked.

"Only that I will be in town this weekend and plan on abducting my fiancee' from the clutches of the SGC."

"Well, just make sure you come in and do the rounds before kidnapping Col. Carter. Several people were hurt last time you were in town and didn't stop by."

"Will do, see you on Friday, Hank."

"Bye, Jack."

THE END


End file.
